@Guy said:

Have a little problem here...

I bought a sata system, but I can't seem to extract the content of the DVD ROM that came with it. It contains 2 files: Firmware and RaidGuide. I presume they are vital for it to work?

2nd question: the wire with the 10 tiny holes, there's that connection in the back of the sata module but not in the back panel of my G5 Quad. Are they also suppose to connect with that wire?

I'm not sure what type of SATA setup you have, but there are no PCI-Express cards available for the Quad that will allow you to connect external SATA drives yet. A month or 2 away, from Sonnet and others. If I'm understanding your question, you can't connect them to anything on the back of a G5 (you need to install the PCIe SATA card. There's a card from Highpoint, but it's only for extra internally mounted drives.

guy, i'd assume it is this device - the firmware is just attached for service purposes, before you update firmware it's always a good idea to look on the website of the manufacturer for a newer version, although this should not be neccessary at first.

the *raid guide* is possibly a raid monitoring software - for this purpose you had to connect the system via a serial port - nothing like that on a mac since years ... i'd say: both pieces software are windows only ....

the display should tell you in which raid-mode the system is configured by default - make yourself familiar with the buttons on the front and change the raid-type if needed. after power-up the device should start configuring by it's own.

regarding the connection: well, the quick solution would be to take one of the PCIe-slot caps out and connect it with the sATA-wire to the free internal sATA-port of your G5.
once the selfconfiguring process of the device is finished, you should see it in your disk utility ready for formatting

christian

I may be wrong here as I'm no expert!

If you are using an external enclosure that presents 2 or more drives through a single eSATA connection there are 2 things to consider. Firstly there is a data limit by all drives having to pass data via a single eSATA therefore with SATA 1 the theoretical limit is 150MB's per second regardless of drives whereas if the enclosure provides seperate eSATA connections to your host card the SATA limits (SATA 1 150MB/ SATA 2 300MB) apply to each drive. In this case the only limiting factor will be the transfer rates of the drives thus potentially much higher transfer rates will be achieved in a Raid 0.

The 2nd issue is will 2 drives connected on a single eSATA be available to the Mac for software raid solutions or formatting? - I'm not sure they will be so perhaps special software is required - I saw from the link Christian provided that that particular enclosure had specific software (windows only) so how this works with a G5 it would be sensible to check.

G5's internal SATA connector might require an eSATA-SATA lead as the internal connections are of a different profile.

Julian

Thanks cristian, garylionelli and Julian.

christian, that is very very close! You a verrry smarrrt man!
It's SR 3600 http://www.stardom.com.tw/main_e.htm


Now I bought it from the Mac shop where I bought the Quad, so it was understood they would work well together. Unfortunately, a few hours later after I had left he closed his shop until Jan 3rd. Just great!!! But I assume it's not a major thing.

I at least want to be sure of the connections,

I'm not sure if these are standard names for the cables but this is what's in the back of the module:

RS232 Cable(10 little holes)
USB2.0
1394-B "Out" and "In"

the specific model is SR3600-2S-WB

So what would be the connection going to my Quad? I'll understand better this way...

If I could get this, that would be a wonderful christmas present! [:D]

Hi Guy,

couldn't see a SR 3600-2S-WB only a 3500 version. Looks like you've got yourself a USB2/firewire 400/800 device. If that is the case ignore USB 2 (too slow) and get a firewire 800 (1394-B) connector to connect directly to your G5. Check your G5 instructions to locate and recognise the FW 800 connects (they should be the same as the ones on the external enclosure).

This won't be the same level of speed as a SATA interface but will be compatible with your Mac without having to install extra drivers. If you have 2 discs in the enclosure they will either present themselves as 2 seperate discs or if the enclosure is running a hardware raid (like the Lacies do) then it will be a single disc.

Julian.

Hi Julian,

I have it set to Raid 0, just a flick of a switch...But why is the !?&#% icon not appearing on the desk top?

...got to get ready to play for the Xmas mass in 30 min. Maybe a prayer might help?

I'm cooking the Christmas Goose!

So only can offer the thought of rebooting the mac with the external disc turned on - it should recognise it. Also check with both disc utility and system profiler (it's the "about this mac" command on the blue apple in the finder) - disc should appear under the firewire section - if you have connected it with firewire. good luck and Happy Christmas!

Julian

guy, open accessories, disk utility - there it should be listed as unpartitioned disk. when creating a partition and formating make sure you select HFS+ _not_ journaled (otherwise the journaled feature will eat your disk space everytime you erase files)
christian

Hopefully Julian or christian you could read this between 2 turkey legs....

Ok, hope is born today! Someone else I think....

The Icon is now showing on the desk top. AL-LE-LU-IA! (SATB)

I'd just want to verify a few setting, if I may:

In Disk Utility, under partition, what format should I choose between:

Mac Os extended (journaled)
Mac Os extended
Mac Os extended (Care-sensitive, jounaled)
Mac Os extended (Care-sensitive)
UNIX File System
Free space


Then under RAID,for volume format:

(Same options)


Raid Type:

Mirrored RAID set
Striped Raid set
Concatenated Disk set
(I don't want it mirrored, but I'm not sure of the 3rd one!)


How about, Volume Scheme?

Current
1 partition
2 partitions
3 partitions
etc


Then I have a rectangle standing up,one half is gray(External Raid) and the bottom half is white (Free Space). A line in the middle lets me adjust the proportion I want: 50-50, 60-40, 70-30 etc So where should that be?


I'm getting so close to finally making some music.... [:D]

So from my understanding I'm looking for 2 partitions, which is what I did.
So now I have 2 icons appearing. 1st is 465.5 GB and the 2nd 465.8 GB. Is this normal that they're not 500 GB each? I presume so...

Oh! I just saw the total: 931.5 GB Oxford. So why not 1000 GB? Isn't that what I bought?

guy, the 500 GB vs. 465 .... this is a marketing trick of harddrive manufacturers ... they call 100o byte 1 kB, whereas 1 kB is in fact 1024 byte. this multiplies up to the difference you are now wondering about .... it's *normal*.

you said you choose raid 0 (striping), so in the end (after initializing of the device is finished) you should see only 1 drive with 1 TB (resp. the *true* 931 GB).

now format this drive with HFS+ extended (without the journaled option, for reasons i wrote above)

the raid tab is not applying to your case, because the raiding is done in hardware by your external device.

then i would run some tests for audio-streaming, i mentioned earlier that it is not sure the raidcontroller gives optimal performance for severeal reasons. if it does not, you should re-configure the device to JBOD (just a bunch of disks) - then you will see two drives in the disk utility and should raid them in software (that's what the raid-tab for) or leave it as it is and just spread your samples across the two new drives

christian

Ok,but I do want 2 partitions right? As it is I have 2 partitions and 2 icons. I enabled the journaled. Hopefully so far so good...

And as suggested by Julian, I verified in the hardware content of the computer under Firewire and it now says: File system HFS+

I just want to get this straight before going to the next step.

please re-read my posts above regarding the journaled option. if you want two partitions (on one drive), keep them - i don't know how you'd like to organize your stuff. and don't forget to test the streaming performance ...
christian

All I was asking is if it says: File System: HFS+ in the System Profiler when you click Firewire is that a confirmation that it's OK?

Christian: "make sure you select HFS+ _not_ journaled (otherwise the journaled feature will eat your disk space everytime you erase files)"

Guy: "n Disk Utility, under partition, what format should I choose between:

Mac Os extended (journaled)
Mac Os extended
Mac Os extended (Care-sensitive, jounaled)
Mac Os extended (Care-sensitive)
UNIX File System
Free space"

Christian: "now format this drive with HFS+ extended (without the journaled option, for reasons i wrote above)"

Guy: "I enabled the journaled"

Christian: "please re-read my posts above regarding the journaled option"

Guy : "All I was asking is if it says: File System: HFS+ in the System Profiler when you click Firewire is that a confirmation that it's OK?"

Guy all we are doing is try to help!

The recommendation is you format you discs with journalling turned off so it should be HFS+ (no journalling)

Enjoy your Christmas! (the Goose was great!)

Julian

@julian said:

Guy : "All I was asking is if it says: File System: HFS+ in the System Profiler when you click Firewire is that a confirmation that it's OK?"

Guy all we are doing is try to help!

TJulian

Thanks Julian,

I know you're trying to help, and my quote may of sounded a bit impatient, but there was no anger in it... sorry about that christian... I was really clarifying my question.
I've been out of equipment for 6 month and would like so much to get this hardware setting out of the way.

One thing is for sure and that is I could not get though this without the help of you guys. Thanks for all the help!

If your file system is showing as HFS+ this will be fine. The reason for not using a journalling file system for audio/video drives is that there is a certain overhead in the process that, while is not so important on your boot disc, can slow down the ultimate transfer speeds of the drive. I believe Apple, themselves, recommend journalling is NOT used for Final Cut Pro scratch discs for example. (scratch discs are the ones that record the video, audio and render files)

HFS+ is the short form for Mac OS Extended - that is probably why there was some confusion when you looked at your disc formats.

When you have a moment it is really worth spending a couple of days surfing the forums - as a start I would recommend Apple's user forums for Tiger OSX, Logic and in your case G5 hardware. It may sound a bit nerdy just browsing user forums but as a composer you may find yourself attempting many of the tasks that were previously (and still are) provided by dedicated experts.

If you are providing a professional service it pays to have the knowledge to do this at whatever level is necessary.

Although a lot of my work is recorded in pro studios there are still numerous occassions where I am deliverying a project directly from my own studio and although I am a professionally trained mix engineer I have had to learn all the software and hardware issues as I've gone along.

The forums and users generosity in sharing their knowledge is a key element in the process and is often the only source of an answer late night and in the holidays. Of course in any forum there is a spread of competence from expert to basic beginner so not every answer or post has the same meaning or use to everybody.

I hope you're now settled down with a perfectly usable drive!

Julian

Thanks again Julian,

I certainly will look at all these options for various references. I'll have to spread that out over the years to be realistic... My short term goal is to have a clean and reliable set up.

Getting there... [:D]

Hi,

Just a basic question here: What is the proper order for shutting off your computer and the Raid system?

Guy

Optoion 1:

With a Mac just selecting "shut down" in the apple menu will do everything for you.

Option 2:

Also you can remove hard dscs from the desktop by dragging them to the trash (it doesn't erase them!) Once external discs have been removed from the desktop in this fashion they can be safely turned off with the computer remaining on for other functions if necessary. By the way if a disc has been removed in this fashion it can usually be brought back onto the desktop by turning it off - wait a few seconds then turn on and it should re-appear. If it doesn't disc utility should still see it and within disc utility you can mount the volume then it will appear. If it still isn't visible then a re-boot will see the disc.

One thing to note is that if the disc is being used in an open programme (example it is providing VSL samples or audio files to a DAW) you will not be able to remove it from the desktop and you will get a message asking you to try quitting the programme you are using in order to eject the disc.

What you DON'T want to do is turn off the disc before either the computer or removing it from the desktop (see above) This can cause directory errors or other problems which can build up over time - also if you do this you will get an error message on your desk top.

If, by the way, you have done thisaccidentally most of the time you will be OK but you should run Disc Utilities repair sequence to check everything is OK. Also at fairly regular intervals - say weekly or monthly - it is sensible to run a disc utiity (Disc Warrior appears to be Apple users favourite) to check and restore the directory structure of your discs. This should be done on all your discs - including the boot disc (checking the boot disc is achieved by booting from the disc warrior CD).

Certain Raid configurations cannot be checked with Disc Warrior best to try on a disc by disc basis.

Julian